Bishop remembers missing jet tragedy in his Easter message

9:00am Sunday 20th April 2014

THE head of the Church of England in Dudley has focused on the missing Malaysian airliner for his Easter message.

Bishop of Worcester, the Rt Rev Dr John Inge, who is leader of the Diocese of Worcester which includes Dudley, highlighted the agony of families coping with the uncertainty of the mysterious disappearance of flight MH 370, which went missing on March 8 with 239 people on board.

Dr Inge added that although no wreckage has been found in the search area, 1,500 miles off the coast of western Australia, there seems little doubt all aboard were killed.

He said: “The cruel truth is that all those on board have almost certainly died. Understandably, their relatives want to know exactly how and when – and why. And perhaps they are also asking what happened to them after they died?

“The short answer to that is that nobody knows. However, Christians believe that, because of the resurrection of Jesus, death is not the end. Because Christ was raised from the dead, we too can be raised from the dead if we wish to accept God’s invitation to eternal life through Jesus.

“The resurrection of Jesus, which we celebrate at Easter, can seem unbelievable. It always has. In fact, it doesn’t make any sense from the point of view of any worldview except the one of which it is the basis.

"For two thousand years, though, it has given millions of people all over the world a kind of hope which nothing else can offer."

Meanwhile young people at Russells Hall hospital will be celebrating Easter in style after an appeal for donations of seasonal treats was a whopping success.

Reed Specialist Recruitment gathered more than 550 Easter eggs and toys from businesses around the West Midlands, Staffordshire and Shropshire for donation to the Children’s ward at the hospital.